Bag filling spout



July 7, 1936. A. ANDREAS 1 BAG FILLING SPQUT Fild Oct. 22, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR flrizo flndms ATTORN EY July 7, 1936. AN 2,046,761

BAG FILLING SPOUT Filed Oct. 22, 1951. Z Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR flrzzo findrms' ATTORNEY- Patented July 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE and mama srou'r i Arno Andreas, Munster, Germany Application 0mm 2:, 1931, Serial No. 510,331

In Germany December 8, 1930 7 Claims; (CL 226-48) This invention relates to spouts or nozzles for package filling machines, and more particularly to improvements in spouts for filling valve bags with pulveruient materials, such as cement, and for permitting air in the bags to escape therefrom. A nozzle of.this type is shown in my copending application, Serial No. 508,450, filed January 13, 1931, and the features disclosed in the present application are illustrated in connection with such a nozzle, with which they are combined to especial advantage, though it will be understood that, for the most part, they are susceptible of embodiment in other styles of nozzles.

As is well known, the practice is to use a nozzle the upper wall of which extends out beyond the lower wall, with its outer end preferably turned downwardly. In placing valve bags on such a nozzle or spout so that they depend therefrom, with the flaps in the bags for closing the valve openings lying along the lower side of the spout, the result has been, especially with bags of soft material, that the fiap or adjacent portion of the bag has frequently become stuck on the spout, sometimes ripping the bag and,more often, at least irritating the operator and causing delay. One of the objects of the invention hence resides in the provision of improvements in spouts which are simple and inexpensive to make and which avoid these disadvantages. v

Another object of the invention is to increase the efiiciency of the means for propelling the material through the spout, by a novel construction of the spout and adjacent outlet opening in said means.

A further object is the provision of simple and effective means for carrying away the dust which is bound to escape with the air from the bags when they are being filled with materials such as cement.

Still another object of the invention has to do with a simple and improved spout construction for cooperation with means for clamping the bag on the spout.

Other objects and advantages of the invention mil be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherev in Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of one form of my improved construction. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section, on the line 3-4 of Fig. l, partly broken away, through a filling nozzle or spout, with the bag thereon, looking toward the outlet end of the nozzle. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, except that it shows a modified type of bag, and clamp therefor. Figs. 5 and 6 are details of the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and Figs. 7 and 8 are details of a modified spout.

There is shown at I a propeller or'turbine housing for the propeller 2 on shaft 3. A propeller blade is indicated at 4, and the outlet opening in the propeller housing at 5. Secured to the housing l by bolts 6 is an arm I for carrying shaft 9. Journalled on shaft 9 is a sleeve in to which is secured arm ll having a handle portion l2. Also secured to the sleeve III is 9. depending arm i3 provided near'its lower end with a set screw it and a lock nut i5. Arm 1 is formed with bifurcated portions 8 between which there is pivoted on shaft 9 a. bag clamp, which consists of a member it having an extension I! against which a bag gripping element I8 is secured by bracket l9 and screws 20. Element I8 is composed of resilient material such as rubber. Element I8 is so arranged with respect to member i6 that its bag engaging surface is parallel to the bag when the center of gravity of member I. and the parts carried therewith, is rearward of the pivot point of the member, so that the bag is gripped over a considerable area while the member i6 is still tending to swing forward. In this way, a superior gripping action is achieved.

In Fig. l, a bag H with fiap 22 for closing the valve opening is shown retained on the spout 28 in position for filling. This spout is tubular, as

shown, and is provided at its inner end with a fiange 24 secured to it in any suitable manner.

Bolts as, secure the spoilt flange to the propeller housing.

When the bag has been filled with the desired quantity of material, the operator pulls down the handle I! so as to cause the end of the screw M to abut against member It with the result that the bag clamp will be swung backwardly and upwardly to release the bag. Screw I4 is adjusted so that the clamp will be released at the desired point in movement of the handle. The bag having been removed from the machine, the next step is to place an empty bag on the spout. This is done by simply slipping the valve opening'in the bag over the spout, whereupon the bag clamp will swing under the influence of its own weight to clamping position and thereby automatically clamp the bag. If desired, at any time, the operator may assist by giving the clamp a slight forward pull. In machines where the propeller is rapidly rotated, whether the feed be periodically cut off at inlet side or the outlet side of the propeller, it has been found that the pressure of the material which the propeller delivers aids the clamping action by urging the bag slightly gested, I have devised a construction which preferably comprises a tube 23 having one or more longitudinally extending ribs 20 at its lower side for forming air passages between the spout and the adjacent portions of the valve bags when on the spout for filling, the ribs having rounded surfaces to prevent cement or the like from. sticking to them. The spout has a lower wall 29 which terminates, as is customary, short of the upper wall 30, with respect to the outlet end of the spout, the latter wall terminating 'in a downwardly extending tip ii. A spout of this character is shown in my application #508,450, referred to above. In order to prevent valve bags from catching on such spouts when the operator hurriedly attempts to put them in place, and at the same time to allow for undlminished fiow of material, I have provided a rib 32 which extends from the end of the lower wall upwardly and outwardly to meet the upper wall adjacent its tip, and which may especially advantageously be made as an extension of and integral with rib 26. A plurality of these "ribs may be used as shown in Figs. '7 and 8. For securing the bags to the spout during filling operations, by means of a clamp such as has been described, I have found it desirable to form a clamping surface on the spout. This surface is best formed as a fiat portion 28 on the top of the spout adjacent its outer end, and has particular advantages with a singlewalled, ribbed tube, because of the absence of difiiculties inherent in forming a double-walled tube in this way. a I

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the resilient gripping element It may be so located on the clamp It as to engage the bag substantially in the middle of the fiat top portion 28 of the spout. However, where seamed bags having an upper seam projection 33 (such as shown in Fig. 4) are to be employed, a clamp having the gripping element laterally oifset may be utilized, said gripping element cooperating with a part of the portion 28 at one side of the center thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

For collecting the dust which inevitably escapes with the air from the bag when powdered orfinely divided materials are being filled into bags, I have provided a generally annular housing 33 for surrounding the nozzle at its end adjacent to propeller housing. This annular housing preferably has a larger diameter than the spout so that there is space between the spout and the housing. The inner side of the housing may abut against the spout fiange and be secured thereto by any suitable means. The bottom of the housing flares into a tube 34, preferably integral therewith, for carrying the dust to any desired point with or without use of suction. In this construction, the fine dust which passes alongside the rib or ribs 26 is collected in the housing 33 and passes out through tube 34. I have foundthis construction simple and effective and especially advantageous on account of the ease with which it may be assembled. If it is desired to remove the housing at any time, it can he slipped over the spout. Suitable suction a means and a dust collector (not shown) may be operatively connected with tube 34.

It sometimes happens that when the propeller is rotating in a considerable mass of material, the material tends to clog or choke the opening in 5 the propeller housing which leads into the spout. I have found that this disadvantage is greatly overcome if the size of the opening 6 in the propeller housing is somewhat smaller than the cross-section of the spout, the latter being generally determined by the size of the valve opening in the standard valve bags at present in use. Hence, it is advantageous to construct the housing and adjacent spout in this way, as best illustrated in Fig. 1.

It has been found desirable to have the lower wall of the spout longer than the valve fiap on the bag, as shown, to avoid an injector action, or in other words, the tendency of the incoming material to draw in air. At the same time the sidewalls of the spout may be cut back as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 to allow for expansion of the material.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of 30 the invention claimed.

Certain features are shown but not claimed herein because they are claimed in my copending applications.

What I claim is:

1. A,spout adapted to enter the opening in a valve bag for filling the bag and including a lower wall terminating short of the upper wall, with respect to the outlet end of the spout, and a rib meeting the outer end of the lower wall and extending to meet the upper wall adjacent its outer end.

2. A spout of the character described adapted to enter the opening in a valve bag and comprising a tube for conveying material having its lower wall terminating short of its upper wall with respect to the outlet end of the spout, and a rib extending generally longitudinally of the spout and including a portion adapted toform air passages between the valve and the tube, and a portion extending from adjacent the outer end of the lower wall to a point adjacent the outer end of the upper wall and being secured to said outer end of the upper wall.

3. A spout of the character described adapted 55 to enter the opening in a valve bag and comprising a tube for conveying material having its lower wall terminating short of its upper wall with respect to the outlet end of the spout, and a rib extending generally longitudinally of the lower wall of the spout andincluding a portion adapted to form air passages exterior to said rib and between the valve and the tube, and an extension of said rib extending from the outer end of the lower wall to a point adjacent the outer end of the upper wall.

4. In a bag filling machine, a single-walled spout adapted to enter an opening in the bag, a rib formed on the bottom of the spout, a fiat portion on the top of the spout, and means to clamp a bag against the fiat portion when the bag is on the spout.

5. In a bag filling machine, a spout adapted to enter an'opening in thebag, a fiat portion formed on the upper wall of the spout and means to clamp a bag'ageinst the flat portion when the bag is on the spout.

6. In a bag filling machine, a spout adapted to enter an opening in the'bag, a flat portion formed on the upper wall of the spout, and means cooperating with a part of said flat portion at one side of the center thereof for clamping the bag to said spout.

"I. In 5 bag filling machine, a spout adapted to enter an opening in the bag, a. flat portion formed on the upper wall of the spout, and means cooperating with the middle of said flat portion for clamping the bag to said spout.

ARNO ANDREAS. 

